Because I Like You
by myxwonder-wall
Summary: After years of merciless bullying, Scorpius finally snaps and wants answers. He doesn't expect what he gets. Cute little fluffy one-shot. m/m-ish.


Things weren't so bad for the first year of Scorpius' education. He did alright in classes with no major mishaps and he had a friend or two he could talk to. Of course he knew about Albus Potter, they were in the same year and in the same house. That and he was the son of probably the most respected man of the wizarding world. There wasn't really ever much of an issue with him. He existed and that was about it.

Then second year rolled around. Albus had grown a few inches and while he looked relatively the same as he'd looked before they left for summer vacation there was just something different about him. Scorpius couldn't put his finger on it, but it made his stomach… fluttery, for lack of a better adjective.

Everything Albus did was right. His hair fell the right way, his lop-sided smile never failed to light up the room and he always seemed smart as a whip. Scorpius had casually (or as casually as possible) asked his cousin who was two years above him what it meant. She'd shrugged and told him he had a 'crush.' He didn't quite understand why it'd be called a crush.

"It just means you like the person, you know, like a girlfriend," she explained. Scorpius hadn't specified the gender of the object of his affection and she generally assumed it was a girl. "Do they know you like them?"

Scorpius just shook his head, cheeks pink. "No," he said quietly. His voice hadn't even cracked yet, but he had a crush. He politely thanked his cousin and went back to his dorm to think about this some more.

A week later, he resolved to try talking to Albus. He summed up all the courage his had and approached him during breakfast.

"Hi," he'd said, his voice chipper but nervous. Albus had looked up at him with big, startled green eyes. He just grunted. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy."

"Uh huh," he'd said simply, starting to fidget and redden.

"I like your hair," Scorpius said. He sounded goofy, like any twelve year old with a crush would.

Albus responded by flicking syrup into Scorpius' hair and running away, leaving the small blonde boy with first and second years laughing at him. Scorpius' lip quivered and he tore out of the Great Hall after Albus but wasn't following him. He ducked into the first boys' lavatory he could find and hid in there, crying.

From that day forward there was scarcely an opportunity Albus didn't seize to pick on Scorpius. He was forever tripping him, pulling his hair, misplacing Scorpius' belongings, and all other manners of bullying. It seemed that at every turn, there he was waiting to terrorize Scorpius.

The worst part was that Scorpius still had a crush on him. Through the rest of second year, and all through third year. Even when Albus sent bludgers his way during Quidditch matches, Scorpius still put him on a pedestal. He knew it was twisted but he couldn't help it.

Albus was just perfect. Perfect height, perfect lithe built. His hair was dark, almost black like his father's and well just below his ears, always messy like he just didn't care how he looked. For as hard as Scorpius tried to hate Albus, he couldn't. He remained completely infatuated.

He did avoid Albus, though. He crept quietly when alone in corridors and sat far away from him at every meal and in classes when he could. He always watched him, though. Stole glances and even stared when Albus wasn't paying attention (which wasn't often).

Now, they were in fourth year. Albus was only getting worse, getting craftier. He would spread jam or other sticky nonsense in his hand while he slept and then mess with his nose, making Scorpius smear whatever all over his face. One evening Albus even went as far as to crawl under the table and tie Scorpius' shoes together so when he stood, he fell back onto his behind, bound legs in the air. It was getting to be more than Scorpius could take and it would be a lie to say he didn't frequently cry when he knew no one would hear him.

Tonight, Scorpius was in the common room finishing up a two foot long roll of parchment for Herbology. He was on a roll and doing well and was almost finished when Albus Potter walked into the room. It was late, so everyone else was in the dorms apart from Scorpius who'd procrastinated on the assignment.

Scorpius' stomach tightened and the fine hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Typical physical reactions to Albus being in the room. Every time the boy was around Scorpius had this mixed feeling of hope and terror.

Albus looked Scorpius up and down, slowly approaching him. He walked past his table as if he were going to look out the window, but was sure to bump said table with his hip as he passed. Predictably, Scorpius' bottle of ink fell over, getting the stick black liquid all over Scorpius' newly completed assignment. Scorpius stared at the paper, grey eyes popping and his jaw going slack. He immediately filled with rage. Sure, it was an easy fix with a charm but that was hardly the point.

Scorpius Malfoy had had enough.

"What the hell is your problem," he growled, jumping up. Albus whirled around, his eyes looking like they did the first time they'd spoken.

"Nothing. I don't have a problem," he said, shrugging.

"Bollocks you don't have a problem," he shouted, face red and fists clenched. Albus didn't quite know how to act. Scorpius had never protested or fought back before. "You pull my hair, you trip me, you get sticky shit all over my face, you're constantly harassing me and for no reason! I'm bloody sick of it, Potter."

"Oh," was all he said, glancing around the room. His cheeks and ears were steadily reddening and he was looking nervous.

"Why do you hate me," Scorpius asked, shaking his head. "Is it because I'm a Malfoy?" Albus shook his head. "Because I get better marks in potions?" Another shake of Albus' head. "Then what the bleeding hell is it!?"

Scorpius gasped, suddenly having Albus' body slammed against his. Albus kissed him roughly, calloused hands closing on Scorpius' pale, smooth cheeks. For a moment, Scorpius melted against him, kissing back. This was absolutely the moment he'd been waiting for over the last two years.

He then remembered he was mad at Albus and jerked away, scandalized. He was breathing heavy, both from the thrill of being kissed and from being angry. "What the hell, Albus! What in the name of Merlin's saggy left-"

"I like you," Albus blurted, staring steadfastly at his feet. There, he'd finally said it.

"Ex-cuuuse me," Scorpius said, disbelieving. "You… You've picked on me for two years because you _like_ me?" Albus nodded. "You've humiliated me and terrorized me at ever single opportunity since the very first time I spoke to you because you _like me_?"

"I wanted your attention…"

"You had my attention! Albus, I walked up and introduced myself to you and you flicked SYRUP at me! Syrup," Scorpius was staring at him, confused and irritated as all hell.

"I was afraid," Albus said, crossing one arm in front of him and rubbing the other. "I liked you, I do like you, but you were - are - a boy. I was afraid, but I still wanted your attention."

"So you had to bully me," Scorpius hissed, rolling his eyes. "Wow, Albus. That's prize winning logic."

"Do you hate me," Albus asked, looking up at him. Scorpius opened and closed his mouth without speaking. Of course he didn't hate Albus. He was just angry with him.

"No," he said quietly, looking away. "But if you keep harassing me, I might start."

"I thought that… if you knew I liked you back, you'd want something," he shrugged, sitting down at the table. "And I'm afraid to… be gay."

"Why," Scorpius asked, perplexed. He wasn't afraid to be gay. His parents knew very well by now what his sexual preference was and neither of them made any suggestion that it upset them.

"My brother," he said, looking up at Scorpius. "He… really takes the piss out of gay people or people he thinks are gay. I mean, not to their faces or anything, but…" he trailed off.

"That's rude," he said simply. "Do your parents know about that?"

Albus shook his head, looking at his lap again. "No, he doesn't do it where they can hear. They get mad at him."

"So the last two years you've been making my life hell are because of your brother," Scorpius frowned, tilting his head. Mad as he was, he couldn't stop himself from feeling bad for Albus.

"Mmmmn," he hummed, nodding. "I mean, at first it was because I was just shy and didn't know how to handle you talking to me, since my brother… ragged on your family a lot. And then I could tell you liked me. You look at me like my dad looks at my mum… and at first that just plain scared me because I didn't really like people that way yet, let alone boys. So I lashed out hoping you would stop wanting me. I just kept with it… thinking if I ever stopped, you'd like me again, or like me more… I don't know," Albus rambled, slapping his hands over his face. "Am I even making sense?"

"I think I know what you mean," he said, setting a hand on Albus' shoulder. Albus looked up, green eyes big and anxious.

"Well now that my secret is out," he started, "what now?"

Scorpius bit into his lip, thinking about it. It was a lot to chew on, to suddenly find out you weren't the object of hatred but the object of desire. Scorpius wasn't about to throw himself at Albus, but he did still like him.

"Let's say… friends," he said, offering Albus a smile. Albus smiled back, nodding in agreement. "We'll see where that takes us," he added. He didn't want Albus to think he was shooting down further potential, if that was what Albus was hoping for.

"Friends."


End file.
